“Aotearoa is home to many marvellous gods. They are special. They are unique. They are awesome.”So begins this beautifully presented picture book. Atua, in Maori is not a gendered term, so female and male deities are included - a welcome change from earlier sources that ignored the presence of the female element and acknowledged male deities only. What else would we expect from Robyn Kahukiwa who years ago gave us that great gift of Wahine Toa: Women Of Maori Myth. Tāne, Hine-te-iwaiwa, Tangaroa, Hinemoana, Mahuika, Tāwhiri-mātea, Muri-ranga-whenua, Tūmatauenga, Māui, Hinetītama/Hinenuitepō, Rūamoko, and Uenuku are each honoured with a brief explanation and full-page full-colour illustrations. Kahukiwa’s art displays her talent for combining Maori and modern traditions. The figures are bold, active, and compelling – there is no doubt about their presence as divinities and ancestors. There’s no attempt made in the text to deliberately simplify the language for very young readers, so this book can serve as an introduction for a wider spread of ages. A hardback book with high quality paper to suit the content.

New Zealand Rugby Country – How the game shaped our nationby Desmond Wood

This is a meticulously researched and carefully written book, which examines New Zealand’s national game from all possible angles. It contains a detailed history of the sport and draws parallels with the condition of New Zealand society at the same time that rugby events take place. It is impressive in the way it unfolds and links the two strains. Particular attention is paid to the way that the struggle against apartheid came to a head with the 1981 Springbok tour to New Zealand. It is clear that the tour shaped this country socially as well as it shaped rugby, ensuring that never again would a team selected on race represent New Zealand.Some space is spent discussing how the changing demographics of New Zealand have been reflected in the makeup of rugby teams, in particular the rise to prominence of players from the Pacific Islands.Chapters are devoted to Maori rugby, detailing its history and achievements, also the rise of rugby sevens and its inclusion in the summer Olympics. Women’s rugby gets a special mention, detailing the New Zealand domination of that sport, but decrying the lack of women in rugby management. A lot of space is devoted to the rise of professionalism in the game and the increased prestige of the Rugby World Cup. The book highlights the journey rugby has travelled from being a totally amateur sport played in clubs, which were often quite social in makeup, to a professional game where a young person can go straight from high school to playing for a super rugby team, and earning vast amounts of money. The incredible amounts of money poured into the game by sponsors and by television have no parallel in any other New Zealand sport, and surprised me, even though I have been a follower of the game most of my life. The influence that New Zealand rugby has had on the rest of the world can be seen in the number of overseas national teams that are being coached by New Zealanders. When rugby became a professional sport the selection and culture of the All Blacks needed to become much more professional as well, and this change is well detailed in the book, even down to the history of the haka, and the all black jersey. This is a book that could be read many times, with the reader gaining greater insight into the details of the national game each time. However, the reviewer cannot help but think that perhaps it was the changing New Zealand society that changed rugby, rather than the author’s view that rugby changed the nation.

Balcombe rips straight into it! And she's transparently raw. Immediately, we are immersed in the seedy, alcohol and drug-fuelled 60s. It's good, with frightening intensity, and there's no gratuitous writing here – it's authentic from start to finish. An exceptional and fast read. Both historic and current, and scarily vivid. From drama to drama, she doesn't miss a beat. I cried. Yes, I cried for the girl who lost her way amidst the drug and money scene, for the baby born into this kind of life, and for the unfolding of hope amidst total desperation. There are parts that mirror my life. Experiences that I can vouch for as true. And a faith that survives throughout. If you read it fast enough, you will be swept along in this other life, the one we so often choose to ignore and condemn. If you read it fast enough, you will skim over the typos and editorial bits and pieces, and the cliches, and get to the heart of a young woman trying to make sense out of no sense at all. What a tale of survival! Amazing story.

When I’ve finished reading the book I take another look at the cover. A photograph of what seems to be the main street of a small town, and the face of a young girl. The story’s opening chapter, as does a photo credit, confirms the setting is Blackball, West Coast mining town. The period, early twentieth century. The conversational style of the opening chapter, by way of a genderless narrator, drew me right into the social atmosphere, though it also impeded reading in places when I had to go over a sentence more than once to be sure of the intention. We are introduced to three families and, in particular, to one child from each – Pansy, Clem, and Otto – a tight group of friends in spite of differences between the families. Pansy’s Catholic, Clem’s Presbyterian, Otto’s German, and religious and racial prejudices aren’t left behind even in such a small place where one might hope there’d be more to bind people than separate them. Of the three, the focus is on Pansy who, although she qualifies for a scholarship that would give her secondary school education, must instead work as a maid at a boarding house. …first Daddy stole Pansy’s chance from her and now Mrs Smithson steals Pansy’s time with her I want and I expect, and worst of all, she steals Pansy’s own thoughts away from her with all those words she flings at her, words that hover about her so she can scarcely breathe for them, words so sharp they stab into her skin, words that sit on Pansy’s head, pressing and pressing. For the girl from Blackball things can hardly get worse, you think. Yes, they can. From Part 2, the divisions become more marked as World War l breaks out, and Otto’s family become referred to as “Krauts”. From then on it’s Pansy and Clem, as Otto is not in the picture, for a reason we have to wait to learn. The miners of Blackball are exempt from military service, but Clem goes against the town’s feelings and volunteers for the New Zealand Tunnelling Company. Now it is he who becomes the central character. The rest of the story is his, and through Clem we learn of this aspect of our military history. If them at home knew what he did. Their dead lads lying down there, passed by without a second look, trampled by the boots walking over them, gnawed on by the rats. Lads that should have been back home working and building things up, wedding their girls and looking to have little lads and girls of their own. Vivid descriptions of the situation, the conditions and the work of these men show a depth of research by the author. At the end, however, I feel less than satisfied – let down by the structure of the novel. The tone of the opening chapter is never repeated; no more is said of Otto, though there’s a pressing reason we want to know more; and the six parts the story is divided into seem arbitrary. Which is why I go back to re-examine the cover for clues. The story starts and ends in Blackball, right enough. The girl is still there, though her place as central character is usurped and she has become incidental. The title doesn’t really help me. Somehow I’m left thinking that along the way the story was undermined, something slipped and slid away from underneath me as two seams fractured and moved apart. That said, the quality of the writing throughout is very good, and details of the story overall will remain.

FlaxFlower Reviews

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